Dragonball Z: a show for heterosexual males only?

[Pokewhiz7]

I can't really think of any Shonen manga where the lead character(s) isn't(aren't) male.

Dr. Slump? It ran in Weekly Shounen Jump, anyway.

You could argue Arale isn't a female, she's robot/android/artificial human type thing/

[Eire]

Her sex can be questionable, but as "gender" she would definitely write "female".

[DemonRin]

But.... But... I love Dragon Ball... o-o



NOOOOOOOOOO!

[perucho1990]

Here's what I mean:


Thankfully, Google image search's mostly got tamer stuff here.

... why'd you make me run a search on -this?-

No wonder Kishi thought of the idea of Naruto and Sasuke kissing each other in Episode 4.

[Patient-mental]

Go to a con.

I live in a little city in Australia and we have a anime con coming up this weekend, and it has to be borderline 50/50 girls to boys and it's usually more girls cos-play in Dragon Ball then guys. It's both wonderful and also awkward seeing hot girls in not much, not knowing if they are legal.

[Eire]

Going to the con I feel like dinosaur, so do most of the girls with whom you can discuss about first time DBZ was aired. You can use that test, before you will unleash your dirty thoughts.

[Patient-mental]

Not throwing out assumptions but i know plenty of people 25 or older who are going, at 20 i feel like I'm in the awkward age of not being in the majority younger age or the minority older aged people.

[SuperAndroid11]

Another pointless thread

Instead of you adding an absolutely worthless complaint, why not let the moderators deal with it if it's truly pointless?

It's obvious you have never listened to the Daizex podcast before, because there happens to be a girl on there almost every week.

Well, it's not like I expect every single person who visits any portion of the website to know about each and every single other portion of the website (main site / forum / chat / podcast / etc.).

My memory of the "early" DBZ web community is filled with the womenz. OK, maybe somewhere between first and second generation of sites, but they were there none-the-less. Lots of character shrines (both to female and male characters alike), overwhelming amount of fanfiction... all done by females.

Keep in mind that this was also around the time that the Shonen Jump demographic was starting to change. What are we at today... 50/50 split male/female? It was the "golden age" with DragonBall that started it, so it was no surprise to see that demographic shift reflected online, as well.

Wow, I didn't expect my thread to generate such a buzz. It's good to have a mod team that supports new users like myself and doesn't let hurt people post negative comments. ^_^

The reason I brought it up is that DBZ is basically a show about martial artists (and a bit about their families). I just thought that kinda panders to a male audience that likes shorts, drinks beer, etc. But I guess I was wrong to some degree.

[Jackal puFF]

We all know Vegeta and Goku will never happen and is not canon. But I'm pretty sure Tien and Chiatozu are def a pair. I really don't know any gays who watch the show either.

[Pantalones]

The first two DBZ fans I ever met (well, not exactly "met" since I only knew them online) were both girls, way back in the late-'90s or maybe around 2000, when I hadn't even gotten into DBZ yet. One of them was a rabid Piccolo fangirl, if I remember right; unsure about the other, I think she liked Vegeta or something but it wasn't as noticeable as the Piccolo fangirling, heh. My little sister also likes DBZ (and regular Dragonball, though she really hates GT.)
And the vast majority of fanfiction/fanart of the same type as that picture that was posted early on in this thread is drawn by heterosexual females, at least if DBZ's fandom works anything like all of the other fandoms I've seen yaoi fangirls in.

So yeah, there's definitely female DBZ fans. Lots of them.

I've never met a gay/lesbian DBZ fan, but... I've also never met a gay person period, as far as I know (I don't go around asking people about their sexual orientations, so unless it was incredibly obvious I probably wouldn't even know unless they told me.) So that doesn't really tell me much of anything.

[Sun-Wukong]

I'm sure somebody's already said this, but what the hell. If it were only for straight males, why would Goku take his shirt off so constantly with almost no provocation?

[TheGreatness25]

Um... Was Dragon Ball supposed to have gay guys in it as the main characters? If this is the argument, then which show is not for "heterosexual males only?" Dragon Ball's strong female characters are Chichi, Bulma (brilliant), 18, and later on Pan (despite what people think about her).

[SuperAndroid11]

I'm sure somebody's already said this, but what the hell. If it were only for straight males, why would Goku take his shirt off so constantly with almost no provocation?

I believe his shirt gets ripped off, not taken off. And that kind of stuff happens when you fight.

Um... Was Dragon Ball supposed to have gay guys in it as the main characters? If this is the argument, then which show is not for "heterosexual males only?" Dragon Ball's strong female characters are Chichi, Bulma (brilliant), 18, and later on Pan (despite what people think about her).

Which main characters are gay? I honestly can't think of any...

I hardly think that ChiChi, Bulma, 18, and Pan are strong female characters. None of them are warriors (except 18). And the only woman that is a warrior was a psychopath in an unalter timeline. Also, Pan was the worst character ever.

[AgitoZ]

I hardly think that ChiChi, Bulma, 18, and Pan are strong female characters. None of them are warriors (except 18).

So not fighters = not strong female characters? I think you're taking that way to literally.

[Bussani]

The reason I brought it up is that DBZ is basically a show about martial artists (and a bit about their families). I just thought that kinda panders to a male audience that likes shorts, drinks beer, etc. But I guess I was wrong to some degree.

Well, like people have said, it was written with young boys in mind. It's a shonen manga, after all. It's just that people who aren't in that target audience can still enjoy it. Like someone else said, how many of us are young boys?

I hardly think that ChiChi, Bulma, 18, and Pan are strong female characters. None of them are warriors (except 18). And the only woman that is a warrior was a psychopath in an unalter timeline. Also, Pan was the worst character ever.

I agree with Agito. "Strong character" doesn't have anything to do with physical strength. I suppose sometimes it's taken to mean a good female role model, and I suppose Dragon Ball arguably doesn't have many of them. Then again, picking almost anyone from Dragon Ball as a role model is probably a bad idea... To me, a strong character is the opposite of a flat character--a character who's developed and fleshed out.

Of course, that doesn't mean I don't wish the girls had gotten in on the action more in Dragon Ball.

[KiddoCabbusses]

Which main characters are gay? I honestly can't think of any...

I'd make some jokes taken straight out of DBZ Abridged involving Zarbon or Tenshinan and Chiaotzu, but none of those character are explicitly said to be gay in canon. (Tenshinhan running away from Launch and preferring to hang out with Chiaotzu tends to be the source of many of the "gay" jokes thrown his way, though.)

Also, many people say that, ironically, Vegeta's rivalry with Goku tends to look creepily like anime "Tsundere" relationships at times. Except, of course, without the constant blushing and flustered stuttering.

[Kuwabara]

My girlfriend and I started watching the series from the beginning (of Dragon Ball), starting last summer. She thought it was adorable and hilarious. We're currently at the beginning of the Namek arc, and while I don't think she enjoys it quite as much now that humor has taken a back seat to action, she's still plugging right a long and having a good time. I just tell her to wait for the Boo arc.

Don't show her that, she'll break up with you. I wouldn't wish Buu upon anyone, especially a significant other...

And just for the record, Tenshinhan is most certainly not gay, he'd just rather go out with me instead of Lunch.

[SuperAndroid11]

I hardly think that ChiChi, Bulma, 18, and Pan are strong female characters. None of them are warriors (except 18). And the only woman that is a warrior was a psychopath in an unalter timeline. Also, Pan was the worst character ever.

I agree with Agito. "Strong character" doesn't have anything to do with physical strength. I suppose sometimes it's taken to mean a good female role model, and I suppose Dragon Ball arguably doesn't have many of them. Then again, picking almost anyone from Dragon Ball as a role model is probably a bad idea... To me, a strong character is the opposite of a flat character--a character who's developed and fleshed out.

Of course, that doesn't mean I don't wish the girls had gotten in on the action more in Dragon Ball.[/quote]

As a heterosexual male, I honestly would have wanted to see a bunch more girl on girl action, but whatever I get tough guys like Goku and Gohan that I can relate too. But for a show centered around fighting, I think the lack of female fights basically means that women don't play major roles at all.

And just for the record, Tenshinhan is most certainly not gay, he'd just rather go out with me instead of Lunch.

You're a dude right? I'm pretty sure Tenshinhan is like a Buddhist monk. I don't think the serious wants to make him out to be a pedophile in having a crush on Choutzu.

[Rocketman]

I hardly think that ChiChi, Bulma, 18, and Pan are strong female characters. None of them are warriors (except 18).

Chichi's as strong as Master Roshi.

[SuperAndroid11]

I hardly think that ChiChi, Bulma, 18, and Pan are strong female characters. None of them are warriors (except 18).

Chichi's as strong as Master Roshi.

She can totally teach people the Kamehameha.